Youkai Busters: First Encounter
by CSKazaam
Summary: Two cursed demon-hunters, one a werewolf and the other corrupted by ancient Japanese magic, investigate the dark caverns of Mt. Samuiryuu. But there's something unnatural hidden within the depths, and something very wrong about the creature they encounter


**Author's Note: **Oh wow, it was so amusing to read this again! I'd completely forgotten how the two characters used to interact. And, once again, I'd forgotten most of what I had written in here, so I ended up falling into a fit of giggles at times, particularly when the characters defeat the monster. Havta say, though, there were a few points where the text was really awkward, and some just made me cringe, so I did my best to re-write those parts, without changing too much. Hope it sounds alright! This was actually the first story I wrote for the World of Darkness, though it occurs shortly after Star Mirror and True Sight, and begins a new mini-series of stories called Youkai Busters. This was co-written with Ikiyouyou, who shares her name with a character in this story. In fact, this entire mini-series will be co-written with her, if it continues.

Oh yes, and the few lyrics in here are part of _I Just Can't Wait to be King_, and _Change the World_ (a Japanese song).

This story was originally meant for those who already had knowledge of the characters involved, so here is a brief introduction:

**Kaze **("Wind") – Experienced demon-hunter, living with the werewolf curse for several years now. Originally from mainland Asia, but has traveled the world extensively. Currently lives in Japan, serving a new master, and learning new battle techniques.

**Ikiyouyou **("In high and proud spirits") – Japanese demon-hunter, cursed at a young age by a wayward spell, now sporting canine features, namely white dog ears and claws. Has served her Japanese sensei for many years before Kaze's arrival.

*** * * * ***

**Youkai Busters: First Encounter**

**By**

**Ikiyouyou and Kazaam**

*** * * * ***

Frigid winds howled through the craggy gray peaks of Mount Samuiryuu. Nothing grew on these lifeless rocks, and nothing could be heard other than the wind and the soft creaking of a taut rope. Claws scrabbled on hard stone as Kaze paused in rappelling down the cliff's face. A loosed pebble was knocked free, and she watched as it plummeted downward, eventually lost in the haze below. Sighing, she glanced upward through her frosty breath to where her partner waited somewhere above. They had almost reached their goal. Finally. Wind ruffled Kaze's black and silver fur as she considered her position.

She hung suspended just above a rock overhang, under which the cave should be hidden. A good leap and swing should have her touching down just inside. Taking a deep breath, Kaze yelled upward, "Yo! Almost there!"

A white head appeared above, silhouetted against the gray sky. "Good! Catch!" Ikiyouyou held out her hand and promptly dropped a black, undistinguishable object.

"Whaa--!" Kaze twitched violently out of the way and snagged the backpack's strap on its way past. Swinging lightly back and forth, she shouted back, "Watch it! You almost hit me!"

Only a muffled response was heard, and Kaze assumed Ikiyou had gone back to preparing the rest of their gear. Growling softly, she used her claws to stabilize her swing. "Give me a minute so I can anchor the rope!" Then, with a mighty push, she swung off and dropped the remaining forty feet to the cave's floor. She unclipped herself from the rope, dropped the pack on the floor, and cast about for some stone to tie the rope down with. Finding nothing, she resigned herself to holding the rope with one clawed foot. Then she glanced above to the black shape of the overhang. "Ready when you are!"

Having already clipped two packs of supplies to the rope, Ikiyouyou slid the first one down to her waiting ally. She clipped on the third and started to ponder the mission for the nth time. She really wished she were elsewhere at the moment. Preferably somewhere with sunshine and blue skies. But no. She had to accompany that crude, hairy, _thing_ down there on yet another mission, to spirits knew _where_, that Iki could take care of herself. Babysitting that were_freak_ until it proved itself worthy of those swords, _Masamune no Daburu Himitsu _(1), in Sensei's possession.... Letting out a gusty sigh, Ikiyou arched her back to ease tense muscles, and gazed off into the sky.

"Hey! You fall asleep, or what?" Ikiyou started, and twitched a white ear in annoyance. Roughly kicking off the second pack, and shoving the third, and last, soon after it, she readied herself for her own dramatic entrance. Deciding to bypass the direct route of the rope down the front of the overhang, she sprinted off to the side. Bending down and touching the tips of her clawed fingers to the ground, she vaulted over the cliff's edge. "Ya-haa!" Rockslide Ninjutsu was totally cool! Channeling energy to the hand touching the stone, she slid downwards, long white hair trailing after and blue kimono flapping in the wind. Gray rock became a blur as it rushed past her.

As she passed the overhang, she touched a foot to the wall, redirecting energy to slow her descent. Spying Kaze, she came to a halt and gave a jaunty wave. Then she kicked off of the wall and launched herself safely into the cave.

Ikiyou strode over to where Kaze stood gazing into the depths of the cave. The werewolf twitched an ear in acknowledgement. "Hey! See anything?" Iki asked. Kaze remained silent for a few moments. Briefly, Ikiyou wondered what it must be like to have senses as keen as Kaze's. Sure, being a dog "demon," Ikiyouyou had all the senses of a finely trained hunting dog: enhanced sight, hearing, smell… But, after working together through several missions, all the indications were that Kaze took "enhanced" senses and upped them to the next level. Or the next _several_ levels. _Must be nearly maddening_, Ikiyou thought, _to be constantly bombarded by all those intense sounds…smells…_And, although Ikiyou had yet to see it herself, Kaze had hinted at having even stronger senses in her final form. _Wolf_.

"Hmmm…" Kaze seemed to almost lazily stare into the gloom, head held upward, nose and ears twitching occasionally. "Nope." Then her glowing golden eyes shifted craftily to the side to land on Ikiyouyou. "But now that _you're_ here, I do catch the stench of something _really_ nasty."

"Hey!" Ikiyou growled.

Kaze smirked and returned her attention to the darkness. "I'm pretty sure it's that…_thing_…we've been tracking. The scent is thick here, but extends farther into the cave. It seems recent." All of Kaze's knowledge and experience screamed "dragon!" But there was something just _wrong_ with the signs that had been left behind. Something unnatural. Kaze had the strongest feeling that she should know what that meant, like it was on the tip of her tongue…

"This place reeks of youkai." (2) Iki stated.

"Ya think?"

Kaze turned around to grab the packs. She tossed two to Ikiyou. "Here."

Ikiyou tossed them back. "Here yourself."

Kaze gave Ikiyouyou her "What-the-heck?" expression. Ikiyou, waving a hand loftily in the air, turned around to face the cave's depths. "I'm going to be sniffing out the enemy, I can't be carrying the packs around."

"You can at least carry one, fleabag." And Kaze shoved a pack into Ikiyou's arms as she strode past into the gloom, hefting the other three onto her back.

Rolling her eyes, Ikiyouyou proceeded ahead of Kaze, pulling out an mp3 player from her deep pockets. Arranging the headphones over her ears, she got down on all fours and started to sniff out the trail. Well aware that Kaze's hearing was many orders of magnitude above her own, Ikiyou said, "Give me a ring if you hear anything."

"Hmph."

Rocking to the beat of her music, Ikiyou followed the scent trail. "_Free to run around all daaay…Free to do it all my waaaay!_" She sang. Kaze let out a quiet snort of amusement, but let her tail wag to the beat, which she could clearly hear. The two demon-hunters continued onward, vanishing into the blackness.

After roughly half an hour, the tunnel widened. Kaze stopped as she spied a heavy, rusted iron door blocking the way. Ikiyouyou continued onward, nose glued to the dirt. "_I want to chaaange the world! Kaze wo kakenukete…_" Kaze watched, eyebrow raised. Suddenly, some uncanny sixth sense halted Ikiyouyou, just shy of the door. She brought her head up with a jerk, hair brushing against the iron surface. Ikiyou blinked. "It's through here!" She pointed.

"So open it."

Ikiyou put her shoulder against the door and heaved with all her might. Very, _very_ slowly, the door groaned open. Kaze flicked her ears back at the noise. Iki stopped when the opening was just wide enough to admit the two of them. _Well, what do ya know…she did it. She roll a perfect twenty, or something? _(3) Kaze wondered.

Ikiyou, still bopping to the music, practically skipped through the doorway. _Ka-thunk!_ A steel arrow wedged itself into the rock to the left of Iki, just shy of her head. Eyes widened, she promptly proceeded to bop in reverse out the door. She pointed into the doorway. "You go first!"

Kaze stalked forward until she towered over Ikiyou. Ripping the headphones off her head she growled, "Stow it." She shoved them into Iki's hands and headed for the rusted door. Edging her head around the side, Kaze peered into the darkness. _Thook_-_snap!_ ..._Ah, there's the trap. _

Ears twitched at sudden chatter in the background. Then… "Kaze!" Kaze pulled her head out of the gap and turned to look at Ikiyouyou, who had the cell phone glued to her ear.

"Oh, just a sec." Iki returned her attention to the phone. "Oh yeah, were fine…yeah, we're totally cool…No really! We're fine. I-" She did a double take on Kaze, jaw dropping. Turing the phone around, she positioned it in front of her. Kaze caught the distinct voice of their Sensei, on the other side of the line: _"Iki…Iki!…Answer the phone! Iki!"_ Ikiyou snapped the photo and sent it. "See? We're cool!"

Kaze rolled her eyes and snapped the arrow held in her jaws in half, spitting out the pieces. "I want a copy of that." Kaze turned back to the door. "Wait here." Slipping back inside, she put on a burst of speed and shot towards the arrow trap, nimbly dodging the bolts until she leapt up right next to it. A swift strike with her claws, and Kaze landed on the ground, pieces of the machine tumbling down around her. "All clear!"

Snapping the phone shut with a flourish, Ikiyouyou moved – more carefully this time – through the door. She found Kaze on the other side of a room carved out of the mountain itself, giving everything a once-over, before kneeling and examining the debris at her feet. "So you got it, I see," Ikiyou commented.

"Ya. Piece o' cake. I think we're getting close, so I'm going to leave my packs here." Kaze stood up. "I think…this may have been some old smuggler's hideout, from the trap. There were others, but they don't work anymore, apparently. Although it's beyond me how any smuggler could have gotten way up here… Maybe there's another entrance, or something. Anyway, this creature most likely took the place as a matter of convenience. No one else has been here in ages."

Ikiyou nodded in agreement. Looking at a second door leading out of the room, she considered. The demonic aura clearly stemmed from the other side of that door. In fact…not only was the aura awfully strong, the youkai's presence reeked, foul and just… _Gah, that is soo nasty. Ugh. It's huge…and not friendly. _Ikiyou shivered and turned to Kaze.

"Because of my greater experience with youkai in Japan, I'll go first to see what we're dealing with and figure out the best course of action. Stay behind me."

Kaze regarded Ikiyou for a moment, amused at the little speech. Then she considered their extreme size differences: eight-foot werewolf versus petite Japanese woman. "Ookaaay... And hiding behind you is going to help me... How, exactly?"

"If it attacks me, I'll have my sword out, which can deflect the attack." Ikiyou grinned. "Besides, if I have to attack I don't want someone right next to me. Or in front of me." And with that she stepped confidently forward, hand stretched outward, to shove the door wide for another dramatic entrance.

It didn't budge.

"What the--!" After a few more useless shoves, the dog "demon" flung her full weight against the cold iron and heaved with all her might. "Grrrr…" Suddenly, the door gave and swung abruptly open to clang loudly against the opposing wall. Ikiyou stumbled forward as she lost her balance, but managed to recover before she hit the ground. She threw a glare back at her werewolf partner, who stood with one hand on the door, inspecting the interior. Kaze glanced downward at Ikiyou.

"What?"

Grumbling about the injustice of allowing werewolves to flaunt their super-human abilities, Ikiyou straightened, brushing down her kimono, and peered into the gloom. A soft whisper of sound caught her attention and she reached down to unsheathe her sword. Her ears flicked backwards momentarily as she heard Kaze step lightly back to melt into the darkness. _She always did prefer the stealthy approach. Attacking from the least expected direction. _Of course, her dark coloring and attire certainly helped her to use darkness as the perfect camouflage. Fading in and out of the shadows like a freaking _ghost_…not that she _needed_ it.

Ikiyouyou, on the other hand, liked to do things much more directly. Armed with a sword that practically glowed with unrealized potential, the promise of nearly infinite power, she made no secret of the fact that she wouldn't hesitate to use it, bold and direct. Shifting easily into a basic guard stance, Ikiyou waited for the youkai to reveal itself.

Something stirred in the gloom, the barest hint of movement as a form took shape. Black upon black, a head reared up, followed by a long neck. What could have been wings stretched upward, before snapping back with an odd, grinding clatter. A creaking noise followed as the thing appeared to take a breath. Ikiyou tensed, expecting an attack, but what followed was only a deep, gurgling chuckle. Pale, white orbs flashed into existence, lighting empty sockets.

Now Iki could finally see the thing clearly. The corpse of a dragon, almost nothing remaining but blackened bone and patches of dried, withered skin, stretched taut in some places and hanging loose in others. Bones, lacking anything resembling cartilage, ground and clattered together, joined only by shriveled tendons or muscle. It stood about fifty feet away on four sets of chipped claws, splayed out wide on the stone floor. A long array of tail vertebrae lashed in the darkness behind it.

So. Kaze was right about suspecting a dragon, although it wasn't nearly as large as some she'd seen, but that wasn't the half of it. Not a mere undead creature, this was a youkai-possessed corpse, and Iki wondered where the thing had met its untimely end in order to have such a fate befall it. Now wasn't the time for idle chit-chat, however; her nose wrinkled at its evil stench. Better to attack first than be drawn into demon-possessed conversation. Things were infinitely safer that way.

Without warning, both Ikiyou and the dragon moved forward in attack. The dragon launched itself forward on frail, but unnaturally strong legs, covering the ground in one leap. As its head struck forward, Iki, already in the air, brought her sword down onto its bony neck. The sword ground to a halt in the neck's tough ligaments, and Iki was forced to yank it back out. Irked, the dragon let out a long, raspy, howling wail. Iki completed her leap, somersaulting to land behind the creature.

As the two continued the battle, Kaze dashed forward into the cavern. Leaping nimbly with practiced ease, she dodged though the battle and began scouring the room with experienced eyes, looking for treasure. Her first glance at the twisted carcass had brought a feeling of dismay. Dragon, yes, but dead dragons didn't hoard treasure, and she doubted this was its original sanctuary. Longing to join in the thrill of the fight, she almost doubled back. But she figured that the demon might still have some type of magical item lying around, so it was always worth a look.

Vaulting silently upwards to a better vantage point, Kaze quickly scanned the room with her enhanced eyesight. Finding nothing, she suppressed a snarl of frustration. On the way down, however, she spied a small item tangled around one of the dragon's neck vertebrae. Faint light cast by the sparks of Ikiyouyou's sword colliding with black claws revealed a tiny oval amulet, deep purple in color. Half concealed by melted flesh, it gave off an unearthly darkened glow of evil.

Victory! Kaze often used a (mostly) fictitious desire for treasure to disguise her true goal: those unique and often magical objects frequently found nearby. After all, she could steal mere gold and jewels just about any time, but _these_ objects were what made the hunt worthwhile. And _there_ was something _very_ interesting right now, almost within reach. Kaze touched down and sprinted towards the demon carcass.

A split second before she made the final leap, she spied something else glowing weakly within the dragon, through a gap in its side. Its steady beat identified it as the once-dragon's heart. Changing direction, Kaze sprung onto the dragon's back, plunged a wickedly clawed hand through tendon, muscle, and splintering bone, and ripped out the heart, removing any last remnants of lingering dragon soul. She leapt off as the dragon violently thrashed and let out a bone-chilling scream.

"Iki! Think you can grab that amulet?"

"Where? Where!"

"You idiot. It's right above you!"

Both the dragon and Ikiyouyou reacted at the same instant. Kaze watched as the dragon reared upward and Ikiyou jumped for the amulet. _Now's the perfect chance_. Kaze whipped out a small, green origami Chinese dragon. She smiled as it seemed to glimmer in anticipation. This was one of her prized attacks, learned after visiting Japan and being roped into serving under Sensei.

Many of the demon-hunters in this area used divine paper seals to combat demons and other evil forces. Never content to do things the same as everyone else, Kaze invented a new twist to the skill. She almost laughed as she remembered her first prank. Exploding origami never got old. But the elaborate paper-folding served more than just a decorative purpose. Kaze had quickly learned that some of her more arcane spells learned in the depths of mainland Asia could be combined with the origami art to seal the holy enchantment within the folds of the paper. Otherwise, the natural degeneration of the ink and paper, combined with the limited energy-bonding capacity of such an ordinary object, would cause the enchantment to weaken and dissipate over time. Now, unlike other demon-hunters, Kaze's divine paper would last virtually forever. Adding in the water- and fire-proofing charms inscribed around the border of the paper, and you had a nearly indestructible, innocent-looking, mini-spirit-bomb.

Holding the little dragon up high, Kaze roared, "Divine Bindings!" The little paper creature jolted to life. Singing with enthusiasm, it shot forward in a spiral of dazzling emerald light. As it reached the youkai, it burst into cords of intense energy, instantly wrapping around the entire length of the monster and pulling tight.

The corpse gave a mighty bellow as the demon inside was literally fried by the holy power. Seeking escape, the demon exploded upward out of the dragon's jaws, pulsing in rage and agony as a twisting column of black smoke.

Ikiyouyou, still in the process of ascending, pushed off of the dragon's skull, boosting her jump. Rising to the top of the demon smoke, sword raised over her head, she gave a mighty yell, "Lightning _Strike_!" A line of blinding white light flashed through the smoke, following the path of Iki's sword as she bisected the writhing blackness on her way down. Pale blue electricity ripped through the cloud, causing a shriek of pain.

At the same time, the wild song of a phoenix heralded the unleashing of another of Kaze's little friends. Iki glanced up at the cloud in time to see a sun-gold spear of light lance into the heart of the demon's form.

A deafening explosion followed the violent clash of magics. The shockwave slammed Ikiyou downward, straight through the collapsing pile of spiritless dragon carcass. The snapping of bone and ripping of muscles filled her ears. Finally Iki hit the ground, blackened dragon remains raining down around her.

Having crushed the dragon's heart, Kaze stood regarding the settling pile of debris and pulverized bone. One ear twitched in gross fascination. _That has got to be…Oh ewww! I don't think I can take it anymore! _Keen hearing picked out raspy squelching noises from somewhere deep inside. The pile shifted, which dislodged a wide swath of melting muscle and skin, causing it to sort of _slither_ down the side, flopping in a semi-liquidated glop on the floor. That was the last straw. Kaze collapsed into a fit of laughter. "I'm so glad I'm not… That is the most _disgusting_…!"

Ikiyou suddenly burst out of the decomposing mess, proudly straightening and brushing off ebony bone dust, and flinging melting ligaments everywhere. Then she brandished the amulet, swinging it in a circle around one finger. With a flourish, Iki tossed the amulet up and caught it in her fist. "Got it!"

"Joy," Kaze gasped, managing to bring her hilarity under control.

Ikiyouyou clambered out of the disarray, kicking bones to the side as she went. After she cleared the pile, Kaze moved closer to get a better look at the amulet. "Let's see."

"See? Isn't it cool?"

The deep purple object was a flattened oval in shape, attached to a dark brown, leather cord. The stone sparkled faintly in the golden light from Kaze's glowing eyes. Kaze reached out to take the amulet. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feel of the smooth stone between her fingers. It held a slight warmth, briefly heated from Ikiyou's touch. And…_there_! That faint spark of dwindling evil was the only indication of the aura she had witnessed before.

"Hmmm." Opening her eyes and rolling the stone thoughtfully between her fingers, Kaze pondered the possibilities. "I think…the stone may resonate with the energy of whoever wears it. It might even help to amplify whatever powers that being employs. Such an all-purpose object probably isn't too powerful, though; just enough to give a small edge."

"I wonder…" Ikiyouyou crossed her arms.

The two demon-hunters turned to exit the cavern, leaving the old carcass to disintegrate. The only thing holding it together in the first place had been the strong demonic will. Now, with the demon destroyed, the enormous stress of the possession was finally taking its toll. In a few short hours, there'd be nothing left but ashes.

After reaching the first cavern, Kaze headed for the packs she left behind. Opening one, she pulled out a deep blue amulet, nearly identical to the one they found. Holding them side-by-side, Kaze said, "Well, now we know what that rock was that Sensei gave us. Here." Kaze tossed the blue one over to Ikiyou.

"Thanks. You know… I know _exactly_ what these are. These are the legendary _Amulets of the Void!_" Ikiyou paused for the appropriate expression of awe from her companion.

Kaze blinked. "Oookay." She turned back to the pack and rustled around for a moment. "What do you want? Ham or turkey? I'm starved."

"What! After all that work I did to slay the dragon, and rescue the amulet, all you can think about is food? You glutton! Don't you even want to hear about them?"

"Sure." Kaze left Ikiyou to decide to which question that referred, and dug out a sandwich, preparing to chow down.

Ikiyou glared daggers at her insolent friend and proceeded to regale her with the legend of the Void Amulets. "The Void is one of the five elements in Shinto mythology, and it's the most powerful. Supposedly, these amulets together represent each of those elements, with the fifth representing the Void. And when brought together, the amulets form a really powerful energy source."

Between bites, Kaze replied, "Cool. So which ones do we have?"

"I have no freakin' clue without studying them a bit more."

Kaze finished her sandwich, balled up the wrapper and tossed it backwards. Standing up and stretching, she picked up all three of the packs and turned to Ikiyou. Then, pointing a thumb back over her shoulder, "Let's disappear."

Ikiyou grinned.

* * * * *

Kaze and Ikiyouyou plummeted through the clouds, Kaze with her arms wrapped securely around Ikiyou's neck, making an effort not to hold on _too_ tightly. _How did I get myself talked into this? Oh yeah…it was more like a trip and push. _

Ikiyou's Water Walking ability sure came in handy sometimes, allowing her to walk on anything from water to leaves, to vertical surfaces, to clouds. So here they were, a controlled fall at a steady speed through the thick clouds surrounding the mountain.

_This is so _cool_!_ Ikiyou grinned, her heightened senses and ability allowing her to feel the individual drops of water as they brushed past her outstretched fingers. She could feel her ki connecting her to the beads of moisture, could feel the currents of air movement through the clouds, could discern the shape of the cloud. _Ah, there is nothing like this in the world!_ Ikiyou closed her eyes and delighted in the sensation of wind rushing through her hair.

A nagging thought suddenly struck Kaze full force. "Iki!" She yelled over the wind.

"Huh?"

"What happens when we run out of clouds?"

"Oh. You're right!" Quick maneuvering on Iki's part unexpectedly placed her on Kaze's back. "You go first."

* * * * *

**End **

* * *

1. Masamune's Double Secret – a pair of unique double-edged katanas hand-forged by the legendary Masamune himself

2. Demon

3. D&D in-joke, referring to rolling the maximum amount possible on the dice, allowing the player to accomplish anything (a near miracle). Here, Kaze had doubted that Ikiyou would have had the strength to open the door, hence, a miracle must have occurred.


End file.
